I've found the song in 4 or 5 different songbooks that I have in my library (all are the version mentioned by JenEllen -- I've never heard of any other version.) Most of these have no information whatsoever about the song. Only one has the notation, "trans. by Hugo Frey". I'm not sure, but I think that means "transcribed". Not coincidently, I think, that comes from the book AMERICAN COWBOY SONGS, Edited by (who else?)Hugo Frey. The book bears the notation Copyright 1936, Robbins Music Corporation, 799 Seventh Ave. N.Y., N.Y. (copyright assigned in 1932). I'm afraid this information doesn't help you much!

I have no idea when this was written or by whom but I learned it off of an Edison record in 1930 and I firmly believe it was written in the 1800s by a church revival group.(guessing of course)Here are the words I learned in 1930 Hand me down my walking cane Hand me down my walking cane Hand me down my walking cane Going to leave here on the mid night train For all my sins have been taken away

I got in a fight and lost my hat I got in a fight and lost my hat I got in a fight and lost my hat And oh my God I couldn't stand that For all my sins were taken away

I got drunk got throwed in jail I got drunk got throwed in jail I got drunk got throwed in jail Had no one to go my bail But all my sins were taken away

I went to church to confess my sins I went to church to confess my sins I went to church to confess my sins And Jesus said come right on in And all your sins will be taken away

It thanked the Lord and went outside I thanked the Lord and went outside I thanked the Lord and went outside Sat right down and cried and cried For all my sins were taken away

So hand me down my walking cane Hand me down my walking cane Hand me down my walking cane Going to leave here on the mid night train For all of my sins were taken away

I will not be back again I will not be back again I will not be back again I've met Jesus he is my friend And all my sins have been taken away

Lots of variants to this song, obviously. The biggest difference in the Norman Blake version is that he sings the last line of each verse "My sins, they have overtaken me". Puts a different spin on it.

OOPH,The fourth verse should be The beans were tough and the meat was fat The beans were tough and the meat was fat The beans were tough and the meat was fat And oh my God I couldn't eat that For all my sins were taken away

Several old-time artists recorded it in the 1920s, including Kelly Harrell, Ernest 'Pop' Stoneman and Carson Robison. I have not heard the Pop Stoneman one, but it could be the one Louie Roy recalls because Stoneman recorded the song for Edison in 1930. Ivan Tribe notes that Stoneman's was a rendering of 'the old James Bland minstrel song'. I got the following verses from a newsgroup and added a couple - they include all the verses Harrell used plus others, and duplicate a few posted above:

Correction to above posting - Stoneman recorded the song in 1927, not 1930 and Harrell had recorded it a year earlier, in 1926. My apologies for the couple of missing breaks above - I thought I had them all. Perhaps a kind clone could fix them.

Thanks, Stewie, for the background info. I don't introduce songs with derivation anymore, but I enjoy knowing. It creates for me a kind of inner resonance with the song. As always you provide excellent information.

Stewie,Maybe with the avenues of info that you have you can answer this question.When was the last Cylinder Edison Record made and when was the last thick flat Edison Record made?We had a lot of the flat Edison Records in 1930 but I don't think we bought any in 1930.I think in 1930 we started buying the 78s.Anyway it took a special needle to play the Edison it was actually gold tipped.Thanks for all the correct info you have been able to share it really helps for the ones that document their collections.Louie Roy

Thanks to all who sent answers. It would seem that there might be some basis for the attribution to James Bland. I, too, like knowing as much as possible about a song. It seems to add something to the performance of it.

Well, this version looks like a spiritual. But the collection (without melody) doesn't give the date or place it collected. According to Index to Negro Spirituals (Cleveland Public Library), "Hand Me Down" (this short title) is located in Utica Jubilee Singers Spirituals (1930), which I have not seen. There is no mention of "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" in Blues and Gospel Records 1890-1943 (Oxford UP); the titles of 10 recordings are "Hand Me Down the Silver Trumpet," "Hand Me Down the Trumpet Gabriel," "Hand Me Down the Silver Trumpet Gabriel," "Hand Me Down My Silver Trumpet, Gabriel," "Hand Me the Silver Trumpet," and "Hand Me Down" (and "Hand Me Down My Old Suitcase").

Surely, this version of "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" (so the title goes) has the silver trumpet" line, so these two song families are related; at least they were intermingled somewhere. But, up to now, I cannot confirm the thesaurus.

If you get there before I do Hand me down my silver trumpet, Gabriel Tell all my friends I'm comin' too Hand me down my silver trumpet, Lord.

Oh, Satan's mad an' I am glad Hand me down my silver trumpet, Gabriel he lost a soul he thought he had Hand me down my silver trumpet, Lord.

The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music has HAND ME DOWN DEM GOLDEN SHOES (Composer, Lyricist, Arranger: By Jacob J. Sawyer. Publication: Boston: W.A. Evans, 1883). The Library of Congress has two items of this song (this and this ). My guess (without any evidence)is, this was mistaken for James Bland's "Dem Golden Slippers."

Louie Roy, you will find the answer to your questions on Tim Gracyk's homepage. Scroll down to the 'Old Records' section and you will find 2 essays that cover what you want to know: 'Phonograph Cylinders - A Beginner's Guide' and 'Edison Diamond Discs - Those Thick Records'. Gracyk's site is full of great info:

Masato, thanks for the information. I too saw that UK site with 'walking cane' title to a text that doesn't mention it - odd. I had a trawl around the net for Bland's text on which Stoneman's version was based (Ivan M. Tribe - 'The Stonemans' Uni of Illinois Press) but was unable to find it. There are several of Bland's lyrics available on the net, but not that one.

Sources given for the page are: - David Ewen, Great Men of American Popular Song (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1972); - Rayford Logan and Michael R. Winston, eds., Dictionary of American Negro Biography (New York: W.W. Norton, 1982); - Eileen Southern, The Music of Black Americans: A History (New York: W.W. Norton, 1997). It might be a bit of work to trace that year in them, though.